Reactions to Depo steroid shot

RinreiW

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Hello everyone. Sorry if this is super long and probably no one can really help with this...

I wonder if anyone can shed some light or have had similar things happen.

Backstory: I recently changed vets to one close to wear I live. My 2 year old cat had his yearly vaccines ( rabies and distemper at shoulders and back leg) and he was also given a Depo Medrol steroid shot one his mid back flank area for what the doctor thinks may be asthma. That was on the 10th of this month. Sadly that night, he had a bad fever and we went to the hospital. They ran tests to check his lungs and heart and all came back okay so they gave him fluids shots in his back and we had to just monitor him. They told me not to have multiple injections together anymore. The fever was gone the next day. 7 days (the 17th) later I noticed a soft lump on his back. Maybe dime size and moves around easy under the skin if you can get it due to the softness. Its pretty close to where he had his steroid shot but not exact? Is that normal for that type of shot? Of course online the first responce for injection and lump on cat is automatically cancer... Thanks google ☹

I contacted his vet on monday and they seemed okay with it and that it should go away in a week or two? Didnt even wanna see him. He has had that shot before a couple months ago and I never noticed a lump then. Another reason im concerned if its a mix reaction from a vaccine. Sometime the lump feels smaller when he is just laying around and thin suddenly larger (puffy) a few hours later. Kinda concerned there could be an infection... but he doesnt have a fever, eatting, and bathroom are fine. So its super stressful and soon itll be a week since discovery.

Anyone have had this happen? Am I just freaking out for no reason? I just want him to be okay and it to go away. I tried to do whats best for my pet but now horrible things could happen from this ☹
 

Furballsmom

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Hi
They told me not to have multiple injections together anymore.
This is something to keep an eye on in the future when you're scheduling him, definitely.

I think that since you aren't seeing him having any issues other than the lump itself, hang in there with it, don't stress since he'll pick up on your emotions, and if the lump doesn't dissipate within another set of days call them again then :heartshape:
 
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RinreiW

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Hi

This is something to keep an eye on in the future when you're scheduling him, definitely.

I think that since you aren't seeing him having any issues other than the lump itself, hang in there with it, don't stress since he'll pick up on your emotions, and if the lump doesn't dissipate within another set of days call them again then :heartshape:

Thank you for the support. Im trying to be as normal as I can around him and i can be a mess when I leave the house. I will definitely keep them updated. I almost wanna call my original vet. They are an hour away (and fur baby hates car rides... Reason I switched vets) but i had them for years. Atleast to get another opinion if there is no obvious change after a week.
 

Furballsmom

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Atleast to get another opinion if there is no obvious change after a week.
I like this thought, and they'll for sure understand (if you didn't already mention) why you are trying to shorten the car ride.

Do you happen to have any housecall veterinarians in your area?
 

mrsgreenjeens

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One of my cats got a lump near the injection site a few weeks after his last rabies shot. I freaked out and called out Vet and they said to monitor it and it should go away on it's own. Thankfully it did. Can't remember how long it took, but it seems like it was at least a couple weeks, if not longer.

I know it's scary to just "wait and see", but over all, injection sarcoma's are really pretty rare :alright:
 
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RinreiW

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One of my cats got a lump near the injection site a few weeks after his last rabies shot. I freaked out and called out Vet and they said to monitor it and it should go away on it's own. Thankfully it did. Can't remember how long it took, but it seems like it was at least a couple weeks, if not longer.

I know it's scary to just "wait and see", but over all, injection sarcoma's are really pretty rare :alright:

Thank you. Im really hoping this is just a reaction that will subside and not get worse. Its been 1 week since it was noticed. No real change of size and shape that i can tell. No change of behavior, eatting, or bathroom still. I know the vet says a one or two weeks and then let them know. Hopefully I see some improvement soon.
 
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RinreiW

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Update 17 days out. I let the local vet know that it appears the lump is getting smaller. Maybe 50%-75% but it is still there 10 days out from discovery.

I only got to talk to the nurse and we went over what all the symptoms he has had to keep a record. Im thinking most of the symptoms were vaccine related and not the steroid. The fever, eatting maybe half whats normal for him at the beginning (first 4-5 days), change of mood, no real energy, and then the lump at the steroid site at day 7. His mood, energy, and behavior have almost gone back to normal. Have not noticed any fever spikes. His interest in eatting has returned (I wish he wasnt so finicky with food). I have been weighing him and he did loose weight but im not sure how much overall.

The nurse said that the doctor would review and contact me if he feels like he needs to see him. No contact at this point... The nurse did not like that he lost weight though( I dont either ) I have been trying to weight him on a people scale every day since last week. The lowest that I caught was 10.5lbs and that was early last week. He is now at 10.7 to 10.9 as of this morning... Small improvement? His weight at the emergency vet the night he got his shots was 5.1kgs... 11.3lbs? (according to the reciept I got). I honestly cant find what his weight was the morning of but I thought the local vet said it was higher...

This is still pretty stressful. Will update again.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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It's good news that the lump is shrinking, AND that he's getting back to acting normal. Some cats do have reactions to vaccines. Actually most cats have reactions for about 24 hours where they act like that don't feel well and basically just sleep. I wonder if getting the vaccine at the same time as the Depo caused the issue :dunno:?

He's slowly gaining weight back, so that is good also. Sounds like he's coming along fine, but of course, your Vet can make that determination. No call is a good thing, right?
 
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RinreiW

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It's good news that the lump is shrinking, AND that he's getting back to acting normal. Some cats do have reactions to vaccines. Actually most cats have reactions for about 24 hours where they act like that don't feel well and basically just sleep. I wonder if getting the vaccine at the same time as the Depo caused the issue :dunno:?

He's slowly gaining weight back, so that is good also. Sounds like he's coming along fine, but of course, your Vet can make that determination. No call is a good thing, right?

Thank you. Since he didnt seem to show any signs from year 1, im thinking it was just all at the same time that triggered this? I'm definitely gonna space things ou next time.

The vet didnt call so hopefully that means they think he is on the mend. I'm gonna update them as soon as the bump gets smaller or disappears unless they call me first.
 
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RinreiW

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Hopefully this will be the final update for this issue.

His lump is almost completely gone... To the point it is very hard to find now. Maybe 5%-10% of what it started as 3 weeks ago. The doctor took a look at him and said everything seems to be mellowing out.

His weight is slowly coming back. He is almost back to his starting weight. He has had extremely soft stool (possible diarrhea) randomly twice since this appetite return. Stool test came back negative so that's good.

He is a happy kitty again so that is a win! 0628220613_HDR.jpg
 
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